[robc1976]

My buddy just put steering wheel in center, aligned plastic in slit (aarows not matching of course) got a alignment and called it a day.

He stated steering angle sensor needed to be recalibrated.

[marconi118]

no it isn't this, it is a thick mark should be opposite to the number you mention.

Try to centre the rack by rotating it fully left, then count number the of turns to go fully right. then go back for the half turns.

At this point the arrow should be nearly facing this thick mark, then line it perfectly and you are done.

In BMW TIS they mention this and put a picture of the 335i rack. Unfortunately for the M3 they also use the 335i picture, so it was difficult for me to find this thick mark as it resemble to a reinforcement of the rack

Post a picture it will be useful for all of us

I couldn't take pictures of it as I had the rack already in the car when discovered this problem, so no way to disconnect oil lines and mess again the car...

[marconi118]

Originally Posted by robc1976

My buddy just put steering wheel in centre, aligned plastic in slit (aarows not matching of course) got a alignment and called it a day.

He stated steering angle sensor needed to be recalibrated.

When you turn the steering wheel fully left and fully right does it stop in a symmetrical position? if not the steering wheel is not centred in respect to the mechanical centre of the rack

I had this when sliding the plastic tab in the slit.

It has nothing to do with the length of the rods. the "bump stops" that fix the end of the steering angle is inside the rack, and independent of the regulation of the rods for geometry.

[robc1976]

Originally Posted by marconi118

no it isn't this, it is a thick mark should be opposite to the number you mention.

Try to centre the rack by rotating it fully left, then count number the of turns to go fully right. then go back for the half turns.

At this point the arrow should be nearly facing this thick mark, then line it perfectly and you are done.

In BMW TIS they mention this and put a picture of the 335i rack. Unfortunately for the M3 they also use the 335i picture, so it was difficult for me to find this thick mark as it resemble to a reinforcement of the rack

Post a picture it will be useful for all of us

I couldn't take pictures of it as I had the rack already in the car when discovered this problem, so no way to disconnect oil lines and mess again the car...

I will look into this, if your car is from Europe and not US will that make difference?

[robc1976]

So your cutting the entire tab so no plastic is going in the slit (sounds so messed up everytime I say it lol!). See my very messy outline below, I am also thinking about re-clocking the column up top with steering wheel centered and have it line up with M3 tab without cutting.

[11SEC]

Rob, I was told this should be plug and play? Is it not the case?

[robc1976]

Originally Posted by 11SEC

Rob, I was told this should be plug and play? Is it not the case?

It is, but getting rack centered to steering wheel is not. I believe a lot of people just line up tab with slit and think they are good. They then get alignment and all seems fine. All parts fit ect though.

[robc1976]

Okay,

Turned rack full right, it is 3.75 (1/2 turns) to full right lock out....so 1.8 turns should be center and arrow on cap landed on this mark....That is guessing where .75 half turn is..I believe this is the mark.

[robc1976]

Better pic

[robc1976]

These are near other mark but can't see these being it?

[marconi118]

look at the pic in post 53

just turn it 10° aprox counter clockwise, there is the mark you can see on this picture after the screw hole, it is thin and close to the plastic ring.

can you post a picture of that part? mine is already in cant picture it anymore

I had a lot of trouble to find it, no picture in BMW TIS and in the net

I lined this way and the steering wheel is now centered.

I don't know if you can turn the steering column at the fire wall side, I suspect there is some other form of metal tab there.

Yes cut that yellow circled part, it is useless, only for centering.

My car is LRH Europe, should be the same on US. According another member of the forum this is not the case on UK RHD cars, but maybe he is wrong.

[AUbeast86]

Hey guys, I’m going to clear up some confusion. I just did this mod and I’m the one that has been talking with Robc about it. There is no “alignment” mark(s) that can be used when intermingling assembly components. These tabs are used at the plant during the assembly process to make it easy and fast to assemble...when assembling a complete M3.

There is no real way to dead-nuts “center” this rack on our cars for a few reasons…

1) The gearing ratio in the 335i rack is 16.0:1. The M3 rack is 12.5:1.
2) The intermediate steering shafts are different (335i pt#32306769157 M3 pt#32302283430)
3) The 335i and M3 have different knuckle(carrier) geometry

This means that the gearing ratio to shaft spline angle is different between the 2 and will not perfectly match up with where the spline teeth are located in relation to the rack to pinion gear mesh on our intermediate shafts. What you would gain in minute centering adjustment by cutting the alignment tab off isn’t worth the uncertainty of what it might cause in terms of clamping force or other unknowns. Also, the difference in carriers is why the 335i inner tie rods need to be installed on the M3 rack. Else you will not have enough adjustment for toe-in.

The best and cheapest way to do this mod is this…

1) Center the 335i steering wheel and lock it
2) Center the M3 rack out of the car by ensuring the tie rods are equal length on both sides
3) Install the rack into the car, rotating the rack spline the shortest distance to match up with the slit
4) Tighten the bolt

The centering adjustment is made with toe-in and by recalibrating the steering angle sensor. This will center your steering wheel as you drive but it will be off a tiny amount of angle lock-to-lock. The slight difference in steering wheel angle lock-to-lock is the only draw-back to this mod. You can eliminate this issue by purchasing the entire M3 steering system but how much time do you really spend with the steering locked out?

Another key point is the servotronics used with the Active Steering Assist in the M3 rack. Dragging this dead servo will make the steering a bit heavier at very low speeds but unnoticeable after you get out of, say, the parking lot or your driveway. There used to be a retrofit kit available for about $250 but it has since been discontinued. You might be able to happen upon one on das interwebs but I think you’ll find that the heavier steering is actually a refreshing change. I love it. Feels like a damn racecar. No issues whatsoever.

All in all, this mod is one of the best I’ve done so far. It ranks only behind my single turbo and VAC stage 3 head mod. You can find low mileage M3 racks for around $400 at www.car-part.com

[robc1976]

Originally Posted by AUbeast86

Hey guys, I’m going to clear up some confusion. I just did this mod and I’m the one that has been talking with Robc about it. There is no “alignment” mark(s) that can be used when intermingling assembly components. These tabs are used at the plant during the assembly process to make it easy and fast to assemble...when assembling a complete M3.

There is no real way to dead-nuts “center” this rack on our cars for a few reasons…

1) The gearing ratio in the 335i rack is 16.0:1. The M3 rack is 12.5:1.
2) The intermediate steering shafts are different (335i pt#32306769157 M3 pt#32302283430)
3) The 335i and M3 have different knuckle(carrier) geometry

This means that the gearing ratio to shaft spline angle is different between the 2 and will not perfectly match up with where the spline teeth are located in relation to the rack to pinion gear mesh on our intermediate shafts. What you would gain in minute centering adjustment by cutting the alignment tab off isn’t worth the uncertainty of what it might cause in terms of clamping force or other unknowns. Also, the difference in carriers is why the 335i inner tie rods need to be installed on the M3 rack. Else you will not have enough adjustment for toe-in.

The best and cheapest way to do this mod is this…

1) Center the 335i steering wheel and lock it
2) Center the M3 rack out of the car by ensuring the tie rods are equal length on both sides
3) Install the rack into the car, rotating the rack spline the shortest distance to match up with the slit
4) Tighten the bolt

The centering adjustment is made with toe-in and by recalibrating the steering angle sensor. This will center your steering wheel as you drive but it will be off a tiny amount of angle lock-to-lock. The slight difference in steering wheel angle lock-to-lock is the only draw-back to this mod. You can eliminate this issue by purchasing the entire M3 steering system but how much time do you really spend with the steering locked out?

Another key point is the servotronics used with the Active Steering Assist in the M3 rack. Dragging this dead servo will make the steering a bit heavier at very low speeds but unnoticeable after you get out of, say, the parking lot or your driveway. There used to be a retrofit kit available for about $250 but it has since been discontinued. You might be able to happen upon one on das interwebs but I think you’ll find that the heavier steering is actually a refreshing change. I love it. Feels like a damn racecar. No issues whatsoever.

All in all, this mod is one of the best I’ve done so far. It ranks only behind my single turbo and VAC stage 3 head mod. You can find low mileage M3 racks for around $400 at www.car-part.com

post of the year!

[DR-JEKL]

May I ask how long does the swap take, and is the steering more precise on road, or only really noticeable during extreme driving/drifting?

[robc1976]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

May I ask how long does the swap take, and is the streally easy for mecise on road, or only really noticeable during extreme driving/drifting?

I could do this swap in 1hr maybe faster on jack stands. I had my subframetout so this was really easy for me.

[marconi118]

Did exactly how you describe:
The best and cheapest way to do this mod is this…

1) Center the 335i steering wheel and lock it
2) Center the M3 rack out of the car by ensuring the tie rods are equal length on both sides
3) Install the rack into the car, rotating the rack spline the shortest distance to match up with the slit

at point 3) I had to rotate the rack spindle 10-15° to match up with the slit.

This was unacceptable.
you need to centre the rack the best you can otherwise all the angles at full lock will be skewed. even if you center the wheel ant the wheels by toe geometry

the mark exists if rob only post a picture as requested in my previous post, it is a bit counter clockwise than what found by rob


You don't need the 335i inner tie rods if you have all the 4 M3 bits (camber road etc), the difference is caused by the lenght of these arms.

Te attaching points on the subframe are at the same position on 335i and M3

[AUbeast86]

These 2 comments tell me you have no mechanical comprehension of what you're talking about. The gearing ratio difference alone should be all you need to understand. Good luck buddy.

Originally Posted by marconi118

You don't need the 335i inner tie rods if you have all the 4 M3 bits (camber road etc), the difference is caused by the lenght of these arms.

Te attaching points on the subframe are at the same position on 335i and M3

[marconi118]

the rack ratio has nothing to do with the centering of it. it changes the total number of turns to go lock to lock

hawing the steering wheel turning (the most possible) the same angle L and R is important to keep symmetry in angles when turning left or right. It is stated on the BMW TIS.

I am telling my experience, on non active steering E92 '07 EU I had more than 15° misalignment to the left. This is only for info, if others don't have this problem, better for them .

anyway, will go next week by BMW to get an alignment and steering angle sensor calibration. will report on that

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by AUbeast86

Another key point is the servotronics used with the Active Steering Assist in the M3 rack. Dragging this dead servo will make the steering a bit heavier at very low speeds but unnoticeable after you get out of, say, the parking lot or your driveway. There used to be a retrofit kit available for about $250 but it has since been discontinued.

I was looking at buying a m3 steering rack from a water damaged m3, what does the servotronics unit look like and where is it mounted (I may be able to salvage one from a wrecked vehicle if its pnp in the 335i?)

Cheers!

[m3dragon]

I have a 2009 E90 m3 steering rack for sale for $500. Has 30,000 miles on it.
I also have the subframe if you want to go full monty. PM if interested

[ThatRWD]

What difference does this make?

Sorry if it's already been mentioned but I don't want to read 3 pages.

[m3dragon]

faster steering ratio